Wrong terminology

[steve from staten island]

Me. Hi! Can i have 2 feet of 3/16 vacuum hose.
Him. Do you have a old piece to show me?
Me. You don't know what 3/16 hose is?
Him, we have hose for cars.
Me. Do you have 3/16 fuel line?
Him. Yes i think so.
Me, Great give me that
Gave me two and a half feet because it looked like he chewed off the end. I explained i use to call it vacuum hose because its used on vacuum like a distributor on a old car.
Tell him its for my 69 Plymouth. He looked older then me and then he jokingly calls me Pops and tells me at least i dont have a car payment. He should only know but then again I'm not some asshole working in a discount parts store at past 5PM on Palm Sunday.
I shouldn't bitch as in olden times at 5 pm on a Sunday your choices to find a length of vacuum hose would be limited to walking in the woods looking for a junk/stolen car that wasn't set on fire or possibly the nearby closed junk yard were folks would drive there wrecks, take off the plates and just abandon them there on the street outside the yard. No worries about titles or registrations back then

 

[1967coronet440]

My local autozone is horrible, if it’s not on the screen they don’t have a clue. Luckily my oreillys store is full of old retired hot rodders. My last experience went something like this

I need a 12” of 3/8” steel tube for a trans cooler line.


here you go, how’s the coronet coming along?

Great should have it fired soon I’ll bring it up when it’s done. How much for the tube?

What tube?

Thanks see ya soon

 

[vintage chromoly]

Usually the first question is,
"What year, make and model is this for"
If one doesn't have that info or it's not applicable due to a custom application, that's usually enough to throw them into a tail spin.

 

[Ironbuilt]

I went to AutoZone for a radiator cap. Nothing special, just a cap. After 5 minutes of questions and keyboard pecking, he invited me behind the counter to look through their stock of caps. A minute later I had what I needed. To make it even worse, I brought the old cap in with me. I miss the Mom & Pop auto parts stores where guys knew EVERY part in the store. Chain stores SUCK!!

 

[Richard Cranium]

I'm very fortunate that I do have an old time auto parts store that I've been dealing with for 40 years. Different countermen have come and gone, but they've all been good.

 

[eldubb440]

I'm sure at some point he has demanded $15/ hour

 

[Budnicks]

WE have a great old school Debco/Napa here still
people at the counter & that work on their own cars
all middle aged now, a bit of a turn over,
but pretty much the same types & people

A girl Debbie owns it, works it daily
{my dad knows her from when he worked at the HS for 20 years, 20 years ago}
her & her husband are former racers too, both build 4x4's now
both are hands on...

But I'm not in the inner-shitty, it's small town/rural mentality
& to personal service, they actually want to help the customers,
not just run them thru the cash registers, like cattle...

I buy off Summit Racing, Jeggs or Rock Auto mostly now anyway
unless I need it now, I go to Debco/Napa

I'm very fortunate that I do have an old time auto parts store that I've been dealing with for 40 years. Different countermen have come and gone, but they've all been good.

 

[67belvedere/225]

that why I go online get a part number and order by number , even at the Hardware store the guy working there never hear of a lintel
he was like whats that , I'm like your joking , he said no , I said does anybody here know what there doing
he did not laugh .I told him , if someone came to my shop and asked me if I new what a reamer was and I was no , I would expect them to leave

 

[themechanic]

I look up the part online before making a purchase. NAPA gives a discount if you reserve the part online before you go purchase it in the store.

I worked at a parts store chain in the warehouse part time in my HS days. I stocked shelves and pulled orders for delivery for other stores. Cool job until they made me work the counter on day without any training. It was a lesson in humility for me. Back then we had to search for parts in actual catalogues and I usually took so much time they would give up and ask one of the older guys for help.

 

[BeepBeepRR]

Ever go ask them for a set of intake gaskets for a 350? Its like you just asked them for a unicorn with a gold saddle.. If they don't know whats in the computer they freak out. So you have to give them a specific car and date of that car.. I went to Autozone and asked for a rear wheel cylinder for a 4x4 1999 Dodge Dakota 3.9 V6 they gave me a wheel cylinder, I get home and its not the correct one. I go back and they give me an alternate part number.. Get home wrong again.. I finally take the wheel cylinder off the truck which by the way has never had anything replaced. I clean it up and get the part number off of it and have them cross reference that number with their computer. Came up as a 66 PLymouth rear wheel cylinder for a 8.75 rearend.. Anyhow I finally got the right one after 3 trips up there.

 

[63RedFury]

Years ago I drove ny 66 Charger to buy a part for it. I asked for the part. The guy behind the counter told me they didn't
make Chargers until 1968. I laughed and pointed to the store window and said look out the window thats a 66 Charger.

 

[BeepBeepRR]

Thats funny My brother had a 1976 Pontiac Grand Am people almost never believe me. They think of the 80's compact car as THE Grand AM.

 

[67belvedere/225]

hey want to confuse them even more when they says its 23 .79$ give them 25 $ then when they punch it in and hit the cash button give .80 cents
bye bye you just blew there mind , them dam I phone do everything , you not need your brain

 

[PlagueOfBadgers]

He should only know but then again I'm not some asshole working in a discount parts store at past 5PM on Palm Sunday.

Really Steve! Just cause he's working Palm Sunday in a part store you label him as an asshole. I understand your frustrations with him not knowing what you need but an asshole. He's working to support himself or his family, that's not an *** that's a responsible productive person in our society. My son is working today and he works at a parts store part time for a second job. He's not an ********, he's making something of himself. He has chosen to work a second job at a parts store after working his full time job during the week.
Take a look at this, 1977 Chevy C10 pickup truck he just got this week.
His hard work with both of his jobs, part store and his full time job at 18 has paid off.

Also look at this next picture. $535.97 worth of parts for us to buy out the door. He got all the parts for his truck with his discount for $177.96 out the door. He's one smart ******** in my eyes. He is working there to earn extra cash fixing his new truck, 73 Plymouth and saving for his dream car a Barracuda.

 

[PurpleBeeper]

I've worked at AutoZone, Murray's and managed 3 O'Reilly stores. They pay almost nothing ($9/hr), so all they can hope for is someone who will show up for work & can do some basic searching on a computer....seriously. If someone knew even a little bit about cars, they'd be busting tires for $15/hr at Pep Boys or Firestone. It is PURE LUCK when I found someone who knew anything about cars. All of them rely on year/make/model and having a stockroom that is very well organized so even if you don't know what the part is, you can find it & sell it. Trucks are particularly difficult because there are many, many options for brakes, suspension, 2wd, 4wd, extended cab, etc....not to mention mid-year changes, California emissions, tow-packages. If you find one guy at one store who knows what's up then keep going there (only when he/she is working)

 

[steve from staten island]

Really Steve! Just cause he's working Palm Sunday in a part store you label him as an asshole. I understand your frustrations with him not knowing what you need but an asshole. He's working to support himself or his family, that's not an *** that's a responsible productive person in our society. My son is working today and he works at a parts store part time for a second job. He's not an ********, he's making something of himself. He has chosen to work a second job at a parts store after working his full time job during the week.
Take a look at this, 1977 Chevy C10 pickup truck he just got this week.
His hard work with both of his jobs, part store and his full time job at 18 has paid off.
View attachment 587406
View attachment 587407
Also look at this next picture. $535.97 worth of parts for us to buy out the door. He got all the parts for his truck with his discount for $177.96 out the door. He's one smart ******** in my eyes. He is working there to earn extra cash fixing his new truck, 73 Plymouth and saving for his dream car a Barracuda. View attachment 587408

No he was a wise ***, ok. If he didn't know what vacuum hose was he should have said so. I never knock anyone for not knowing something. He was a older man and i dont appreciate being called "Pops" either, joke or not. Most of the people who work there are younger minorities and I've never encountered a wise *** one, but it figures the old white guy was one. Support his family is not my problem, maybe if he started out as a kid, like i was back in 70 cleaning urinals and scrubbing toilets and working his way up to learning a trade he wouldnt be working at some discount cheap parts store.
Spare me your lecture i never said people who work in parts stores are ******** and dont insinuate I'm saying anything about your child, unlike others here who talk about members family.... Theres honor in working two jobs or more in hustling money for your family, I've done it for decades and my home, my kids , there education shows it.

 

[WileE]

I'm very fortunate that I do have an old time auto parts store that I've been dealing with for 40 years. Different countermen have come and gone, but they've all been good.

WE have a great old school Debco/Napa here still
people at the counter & that work on their own cars
all middle aged now, a bit of a turn over,
but pretty much the same types & people

A girl Debbie owns it, works it daily
{my dad knows her from when he worked at the HS for 20 years, 20 years ago}
her & her husband are former racers too, both build 4x4's now
both are hands on...

You lucky sonofagun' s.... pretty much all the people I've used personally and professionally over 30 years are all gone. My parts guy, my machinist, my A/C-cooling operation, I could go on and on. The sad part is, the leftovers couldn't come close to the professional expertise these businesses had. Not damn close !!!

 

[steve from staten island]

A few weeks ago i went to Pep boys to buy plugs for the 69. I get this older woman behind the counter and tell her what I'm looking for. Of course she is lost and cant find it in the computer. No problem i tell her can we order them. No,she tells me there not in the computer, i tell her look i got the plus number. Then this other woman comes over, I've seen her many times, she tells her co worker i'll handle it and tells me give me a few minutes we got them plugs and they did.
There is another younger woman there who has been around cars all her life. She told me she was the baby of the family and the only girl with three older brothers all into hot rods. So she grew up around cars and she really knew her stuff.
There is nothing wrong with not knowing, its how you react and if you want to learn, that guy i encountered today acted a wise ***. We sell car parts he tells me with a attitude. He never heard of the term vacuum hose so in his mind it didn't exist. Hope that clears up any misunderstanding's

 

[Ironbuilt]

Next time Steve, just ask me.

 

[PlagueOfBadgers]

Spare me your lecture i never said people who work in parts stores are ******** and dont insinuate I'm saying anything about your child, unlike others here who talk about members family....

No lectures here and not saying you were talking about my kid. You only found out my kid works at a part store because of my post. I'm just having a conversation with you and voicing my opinion about your opinion. I agree with you about the lack of knowledge and help from behind the counters anymore. Also for an employee to call a customer anything besides their name or sir is disrespectful. I called a part store to get a part for the 73 about a month ago and the person on the phone asked me for the VIN. Ha ha, I gave her the VIN and she said that's not the right number, the VIN is 17 letters and numbers long. I told her not with a car that was built in the 70's. She was not able to help me so I ordered it online and had it shipped to the house. Technology has destroyed brain cells for some people and if the computer can't find it it does not exist.


P.S. just saying, you did call THAT guy an asshole.

I'm not some asshole working in a discount parts store.